A new era for inpatient mental health services in South Wales

PLANS have been drawn up for a 125-bed replacement mental health unit for Whitchurch Hospital costing almost £99m.

An artist's impression shows one of the options for the new Llandough Hospital

PLANS have been drawn up for a 125-bed replacement mental health unit for Whitchurch Hospital costing almost £99m.

Health chiefs have released details of the outline business case for the unit, which will be built at Llandough Hospital. It is hoped the new unit, which will bring all adult inpatient mental health services under one roof, will be open by 2014.

The development will bring Whitchurch’s 100-year history as a mental health hospital to an end.

Katie Norton, director of primary, community and mental health services at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, said: “The investment will provide a modern, sustainable and purpose-built unit with 125 beds.

"It will bring together all acute adult inpatient services from Whitchurch Hospital and the Llanfair unit [at Llandough Hospital] for those Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan residents requiring acute care along with associated therapy and support services.

“This is a fundamental part of the implementation of new models of care for adults with mental health problems, based on a range of community-based services; the recovery model of care and high-quality inpatient facilities when they are needed.”

The new unit, to be built opposite Llandough Hospital’s existing main entrance, on the site of the car park, will include a concourse similar to that at the University Hospital of Wales, in Cardiff.

It will include a 15-bed assessment unit; three 17-bed treatment wards; a 10-bed psychiatric intensive care unit; a 12-bed addictions unit and a 12-bed neuropsychiatry ward.

The unit will also include 25 low-secure beds for men spread over two wards, therapy services and “indoor-and-outdoor recreation facilities”.

All inpatient beds will be provided in single rooms.

The outline business case has been submitted to the Assembly Government for approval.

It is understood the £98.7m cost of the unit will be funded by the Assembly Government from the money originally allocated for a new mental health hospital at Whitchurch Hospital.

Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, which has approved the outline business case, was also told the unit at Llandough Hospital will cut nursing costs by around £588,000 a year.

Steve Allen, chief officer of Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan Community Health Council, said: “We are relieved the outline business case has been signed off by the health boards and hopefully the Assembly Government will get it through before the end of the month, with our caveats engrained in it.”

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